Karl Jenkins

Not to be confused with Carl Jenkins (disambiguation).

rate musical involvement in his own decision to leave

the band,[5] and the band of the late 1970s has been described by band member John Etheridge as wasting its
Karl William Pamp Jenkins, CBE (born 17 Febru[6]
ary 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer known for potential.
In November 1973 Jenkins and Ratledge participated
"Adiemus", The Armed Man and his Requiem.
in a live-in-the-studio performance of Mike Oldeld's
Tubular Bells for the BBC.[7] It is available on Oldelds
Elements DVD.
1 Early life and education
Jenkins has created a good deal of advertising music,
twice winning the industry prize in that eld. From
the 1980s he developed a relationship with Bartle Bogle
Hegarty, starting with composing musics for their Levis
jeans Russian series. Perhaps his most-heard piece of
music is the classical theme used by De Beers diamond
merchants for their television advertising campaign focusing on jewellery worn by people otherwise seen only in
silhouette. Jenkins later included this as the title track in
a compilation called Diamond Music, and eventually created Palladio, using it as the theme of the rst movement.
Other notable arrangements have included the Papa?
Nicole?" advertisements for the Renault Clio.[2]

Jenkins was born and raised in the Gower village of

Penclawdd, Swansea, Wales. His mother was Swedish.
His father, who was a local schoolteacher, chapel organist
and choirmaster, gave him his initial musical instruction.
Karl Jenkins attended Gowerton Grammar School.[1]
Jenkins began his musical career as an oboist in the
National Youth Orchestra of Wales. He went on to study
music at Cardi University, and then commenced postgraduate studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music, where he also met his wife and musical collaborator,
Carol Barratt. He studied with Alun Hoddinott.[2][3][4]

As a composer, his breakthrough came with the

crossover project Adiemus. Jenkins has conducted the
Adiemus project in Japan, Germany, Spain, Finland, the
Netherlands, and Belgium, as well as Londons Royal Albert Hall and Battersea Power Station. The Adiemus:
Songs of Sanctuary (1995) album topped the classical album charts. It spawned a series of successors, each revolving around a central theme.

Career overview

For the bulk of his early career Jenkins was known

as a jazz and jazz-rock musician, playing baritone and
soprano saxophones, keyboards and oboe, an unusual
instrument in a jazz context. He joined jazz composer Graham Collier's group and later co-founded the
Jenkins was the rst international composer and conducjazz-rock group Nucleus, which won rst prize at the
tor to conduct the University of Johannesburg Kingsway
Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970.
Choir led by Renette Bouwer, during his visit to South
In 1972 he joined the Canterbury progressive rock band Africa as the choir performed his The Armed Man: A
Soft Machine and co-led their very last performances in mass for peace together with a 70-piece orchestra.
1984. The group deed categorisation and played venues
Jenkins latest choral work The Peacemakers, features
as diverse as The Proms, Carnegie Hall, and the Newport
texts from Gandhi, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama,
Jazz Festival. The album on which Jenkins rst played
Nelson Mandela, Anne Frank and Mother Teresa, as well
with Soft Machine, Six, won the Melody Maker British
as words from the Bible and the Qur'an with some new
Jazz Album of the Year award in 1973. Jenkins also won
text specially written by Terry Waite. On the 2012 record
the miscellaneous musical instrument section (as he did
the London Symphony Orchestra is joined by dierent
the following year). Soft Machine was voted best small
vocal forces including Rundfunkchor Berlin, the City of
group in the Melody Maker jazz poll of 1974. After Mike
Birmingham Youth Chorus, and the 1000-strong "The
Ratledge left the band in 1976 Soft Machine did not inReally Big Chorus" made up of members of UK choirs
clude any of its founding members, but kept recording
from across the country brought together in one day, in
on a project basis with line-ups revolving around Jenkins
one studio, to contribute to two movements on the aland drummer John Marshall. Balanced against Melody
bum. Guest artists include violinist Chlo Hanslip, soMakers positive view of the Soft Machine of 1973 and
prano Lucy Crowe, Davy Spillane on Uilleann pipes, In1974, Hugh Hopper, involved with the group since redian bansuri player Ashwin Srinivasan and jazz musicians
placing bassist Kevin Ayers in 1968, cites Jenkinss third
1

PARTIAL LIST OF WORKS

Nigel Hitchcock and Laurence Cottle. The album was 4.2 Greatest Hits collection
released on 26 March 2012. The world premiere of this
The Best of Adiemus
seventeen-movement work took place, however, in New
York Citys Carnegie Hall on 16 January 2012. Karl
The Very Best of Karl Jenkins, EMI Classics (2011)
Jenkins conducted from the podium and John H. Briggs,
Sr. conducted the Childrens Chorus from a seated position. Mr. Briggs was the Choral Arts Conductor of 4.3 Other works
one of the participating schools and its two choruses: Il
Bel Canto and Die Meistersingers of Gwynn Park Middle
Adiemus: Live live versions of Adiemus music
School, MD, USA[8][8] Additional concerts in the UK and
Palladio (1995)
USA took place later in the year.[9]
Eloise (opera)

Awards and achievements

Jenkins holds a Doctorate in Music from the University of

Wales. He has been made both a fellow and an associate
of the Royal Academy of Music, and a room has been
named in his honour. He also has fellowships at Cardi
University, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama,
Trinity College Carmarthen and Swansea Metropolitan
University, and was presented by Classic FM with the Red
f award for outstanding service to classical music.
In 2008 Jenkins The Armed Man was listed as No. 1 in
Classic FMs Top 10 by living composers.[10]
He was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from
the University of Leicester, the Chancellors Medal
from the University of Glamorgan and honorary visiting
professorships at Thames Valley University, London College of Music and the ATriUM, Cardi.
Jenkins was appointed Ocer of the Order of the British
Empire (OBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours and
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
in the 2010 Birthday Honours.[11][12]
Jenkins is joint president of the British Double Reed Society[13] and Patron of the International Schools Choral
Music Society (ISCMS).

Partial list of works

4.1

Albums

Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary

Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi
Adiemus III: Dances of Time
Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot
Adiemus V: Vocalise
Adiemus Colores Karadaglic/Villazon/Flores,
2013 Deutsche Grammophon
Motets Polyphony / Stephen Layton, 2014
Deutsche Grammophon

Imagined Oceans (1998)

The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (composed
1999, premired 2000)
Dewi Sant, a work for SATB chorus and orchestra
(1999, 30 minutes)
Diamond Music (1996)
Merry Christmas to the World (1995) a collection
of traditional Christmas music orchestrated by Jenkins
Over the Stone (2002) a double harp concerto
Crossing the Stone (2003) an album featuring
Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and material from the
double harp concerto
Ave Verum (2004) for baritone (composed for
Bryn Terfel)
In These Stones Horizons Sing (2004)
Requiem (2005)
Quirk (2005) concertante
River Queen (2005) score for the lm River Queen
directed by New Zealand director Vincent Ward
Tlep (2006)
Kiri Sings Karl (2006) with Kiri Te Kanawa
This Land of Ours (2007) with Cory Band and
Cantorion (aka Only Men Aloud!)
Stabat Mater (2008) Jenkins adaptation of a 13th
Century Roman Catholic Poem
The Concertos (2008) Over the Stone (a double harp concerto), La Folia (for marimba), Quirk
(a concertante for utes, keyboards, percussion),
Sarikiz (a violin concerto), re-recording of the rst
movement of the Palladio concerto grosso
Music of the Spheres with Mike Oldeld (2008)
Te Deum (2008)

3
Stella Natalis (2009)
Gloria (2010) with Hayley Westenra
The Bards of Wales (2011)
Songs of the Earth (2012)
The Peacemakers (2012)

References

[1] C U School of Music. Alumni: Karl Jenkins. Cardi

University School of Music. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
[2] University of Leicester Oration for Karl Jenkins by Professor Gordon Campbell
[3] Press article at www.karljenkins.com
[4] Carol Barratt at Allmusic
[5] Out-Bloody-Rageous, Graham Bennett, 2008 (ISBN 0946719-8-5) page 246
[6] Out-Bloody-Rageous, Graham Bennett, 2008 (ISBN 0946719-8-5) page 324
[7] SECOND HOUSE: TUBULAR BELLS MIKE OLDFIELD. Memorable TV. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
[8] John H. Briggs, Sr.
[9] New album coming soon The Peacemakers at karljenkins.com
[10] Top 10 by living composers 2008. classicfm.co.uk.
2008. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
[11] The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59446. p. 7. 12
June 2010.
[12] CBE for Zeta Jones, knighthood for Harwood
[13] About the BDRS. British Double Reed Society. 24
February 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2009.

External links
Ocial website
Biography at Calyx (Canterbury music website)
Karl Jenkins on MySpace
Karl Jenkins biography from BBC Wales
Karl Jenkins interview
Karl Jenkins conducts a performance of the Benedictus from 'The Armed Man'.

7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

Text

Karl Jenkins Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl%20Jenkins?oldid=648729089 Contributors: Rmhermen, Deb, Hyacinth, Jerzy,

Pigsonthewing, Timrollpickering, Bbx, Everyking, Andycjp, OverlordQ, Necrothesp, D6, Ibagli, Bender235, Chi Sigma, Kiand, Matve,
Delvonik, Ogg, Thedarkestclear, PJ, Dis68, Martin S Taylor, Jigen III, Alansohn, Craigy144, Saga City, Belarius, Computerjoe, Orkybash, Rjwilmsi, Dolphonia, Bearfoot, Chill Pill Bill, Visor, AllyD, YurikBot, RussBot, Fnorp, Guy Hatton, Malcolma, VidPat, PTSE,
Mike Selinker, Robodoc.at2, Chiok, SmackBot, SmartGuy Old, Sloman, Bluebot, Afasmit, FordPrefect42, Viva-Verdi, Scwlong, Ianmacm, Cibressus, Smerus, Richard0612, Qmwne235, BNutzer, Ohconfucius, IKF, Wideangle, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, SilkTork, Slakr,
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7.2

Images

File:Adiemus.ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Adiemus.ogg License: Fair use Contributors:

The song Adiemus by Adiemus
Original artist: ?
File:Ambox_important.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based o of Image:Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat (talk contribs)
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work. Based on File:Gnome-mime-audio-openclipart.
svg, which is public domain. Original artist: User:Eubulides
File:Palladio.ogg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/Karl_Jenkins_-_%22Theme_from_Palladio%22_
%28sample%29.ogg License: Fair use Contributors:
audio recording of performance of Palladio
Original artist: ?

7.3

Content license

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